Since reading the The President´s Oranges, I knew I wanted to read more - and more - by Abbas Khider. Born in Baghdad, he was forced to become an political refugee and currently lives in Berlin. I was charmed by the smart humour allowing him to nonchalantly approach serious topics such as the cruel dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
Letter to the Aubergine Republic is an elaborated story, following the fate of a letter sent from a political refugee in Libya to his beloved one with whom he tries to get in touch again after two years of absence. Due to his status and the risks he may expose the destinatary once caught by the secret police, he is spending a small fortune to send the letter through illegal channels operated through a travel agency. The letter travels to Jordan, Egypt and further on to Iraq, where lands to desk of a representative of the omnipresent secret agent. There is no escape of the regime´s long hand.
At the time when the novel is written, the aubergine was the most basic food in Iraq.
It is a short novel, but elaborated in a way that fully reveals the intricacies of corruption and nepotism created through the family connections with the dictator. The odyssey of the love letter reveals from the smallest society cell how far the dependency of the regime goes. A journey unfortunately reproduced through many other similar dictatorships from other parts of the world as well.
As far as I know, Khider´s books haven´t been translated yet into English and it´s a big pitty because nowadays more than ever, we need more an more satires against dictatorships.
Rating: 5 stars
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